Golf club



0. RIGBY GOLF CLUB Filed April 18. 1927 July 5 1927.

Patented M,- 5.1927;

UNITED STATES we oFFi-ca.

ems are, or airman, cine.

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Appllcatlonfled April 1mm; Seriallo. 1mm.

My invention relates to golf clubs, and hastween the sections, the partsbeing in partly for its object the providing of'novel means whereby thegolf club may be taken apart for convenience in carrying the same, andwhereby a single handle may be arranged to serve for a 'number of heads,and whereby for a given shaft.

It is the object of my invention to provide a golf club with a noveljoint in the length of the club, to divide the club into sections whichmay be readily carried forginstance in l a suit case, and so constructedand arranged in novel manner that the sections may be quickly andconveniently assembled and disconnected.

A further object of my invention is to provide a tubular shaft for aclub with fixed plugs and a rotatable collar provided with novel meansto associate and dissociate the sections of the club.

My present invention is an improvement on the inventions shown,described and claimed in Lettersv Patent for improvement in golf clubs,issued to me January 4, 1927, as No. 1,613,360, and in my copendingapplication for patent on improvements 'in golf clubs, filed in theUnited States Patent Oflice' December 6, 1926, as Serial No. 152,853. i

In golf clubs made in sections it is important that the joints be firmlylocked together in non-rotative relation. I provide positive associatingand dissociating means.

whereby the sections can be readily assembled or taken apart by apartial turn of the looking member.

The invention will be further readily understood from the followingdescription and claims, and from the drawings, in which latter Fig. 4 isa side elevation of thesame,

partly broken away.

Fig. 5 is a side elevatlon of the same, partly broken away and partly insection for exposure of the interior of the connectlon beconnectedrelation.

Fig. 7 is a cross-section of the same, taken in the plane of the line7-7' of Fig. 3; and, handles of different lengths may be provided Fig. 8is a cross-section of the same, taken in the plane of the line 8-8 ofFig. 6.

I have shown my invention apfplied to a I club having -a tubular steel'sha' 21 provlded with a head 22 and a handle 23. The shaft is dividedat 24, forming an upper handle section 25 and a' lower head section 26.One of the sections, exemplified as the handle section 25, is-providedwith.a plug 27 which is rigidly --secured therein, as bybrazing. Theplug 27 has an extension 28,

which forms a tapered shank.

The other section of the shaft, shown as the head section '26, has aplug '29 fixed in 1ts upper end, .as by being brazed therein. This plughas a tapered bore 30, arranged to receive the tapered shank 28. a

The complemental walls of the taper shank and tapered bore may beprovided with a relief portion or portions for aiding In their readyassembly and release. Thus the tapered shank is provided with a taperedportion 31, at the body of the plug, and a tapered outer end 32.Intermediate of the two ttaggered portions, the shank is undercut, as asections to prevent relative turning between the sections so that theblow of the head upon the ball may not turn the head and may not resultin torsional yield of the rod. Thus I provide a cross pin 37 positionedin the tapered shank28. The ends of the pin 37 are received in slots 38in the upper end of the lower shaft-section for arresting relativerotation between the shaft-sections.

The slots 38 extend lengthwise of the shaftsections.

The pins are preferably spaced slightly from the bottom of the slots 38,and the proximate ends of the shaft-sections and the plu s therein arealso preferably spaced slig tly' from each other when the sections areassembled, so as to permit the wedging action between the ta ered shankand its socket to have full e set.

A sleeve 41 is received about the proximate ends of theshaft-sectionsand hasoperative connection with. each of the shaft-sections, includingbayonet slot, cam and pin connections for drawing the sections towardone another. The sleeve is exemplified as held in enolwise relation tothe lower end of the handle section by means of a pin 42 fixed to thehandle section. The sleeve is provided with a slot 43 in which'the pin42 is received. This connection ermits the sleeve to be turned about theiandle section and retains the sleeve on said section to prevent loss ofthe sleeve.

The sleeve is also received about the upper end of the head-section andis provided with a bayonet slot 44. The head-section is provided with apin 45 which coacts with the walls of the bayonet slot.

The bayonet slot has a mouth 46 opening in the lower edge of the sleeve.The bayonet slot comprises an entering portion 4:? which issubstantially parallel with the axis of the sleeve, and alaterallyextending cam portion a8, merging with the inner end of the enteringportion 4-7. The incline of the walls of the cam slot at the entranceend of said slot is quite pronounced compared with the incline of thewalls in the cam slot proper, so that an initial quick endwise movementbetween the tapered shank and the wall of its complemental bore isfollowed by a slower forceful endwise movement between said shank andwall of said bore to firmly wedge said shank in said bore withcomparatively little turning force applied to the sleeve.

A cover, shown as a shell 51, is fined to the sleeve, as by brazing orshrinking the same thereon, and is received across the outer edges ofthe walls of the slots in said sleeve for hiding; said slots. It is alsoprovided with knurled surfaces 52 for readily manually turning saidsleeve. The shell is provided with an observation hole 58 registeringwith one end of the slot 43, so that the pin l2 in the slot 43 may beobserved when it is located at that end of said slot.

"When the shaft-sections are to be assembled, the sleeve is rotated forpositioning one end of the slot 43 against the pin 42, which also placesthe pin 42 in registry with the hole 53.

hen now the proximate ends of the shaft-sections are brought together,with the pin 45 of the head-section in the entering portion l7 of thebayonet slot, the pin 37 is located in the slots 38, for placing theshaft sections and the sleeve in non-rotative relation for ease ofassembling the shaft sections in axial direction.

The shaft-sections are then pushed manually toward each other so thatthe pin 45 is placed in registry with the entering portion of the camslot in the sleeve. Rotation of the sleeve is effected by manuallyturning the sleeve, by which movement the cam walls at the entrance endand in the body of the cam slot and the pin d5 act todraw the twoshaft-sections toward each other for rigidly connecting the same.

The respective walls of the slot 43 and the respective Walls of the camportion 48 coact with the pins on the respective shaft-sections forcausing approach between said shaftscctions when said sleeve is rotatedin one direction, and causing separation between said shaft-sectionswhen said sleeve is rotated in the opposite direction, the latterseparation being to sullicient extent so that, when the pin 45 reachesthe low end of the cam slot, the'sha'ft-sections may be readily pulledapart manually for separating the same.

My improved construction provides ready and simple means for connectingand disconnecting the shaft-sections by a partial ro- I tation of one ofthe connecting parts, and the assembling and taking apart of the golfstick may be readily and quickly effected.

The incline of the cam faces at the entrance end of the cam slot ispronounced to cause quick coacting movement between the taper faces ofthe taper shank and the wall of its socket, and the incline of the camfaces in the cam slot proper is slight, to cause respectively, a firmwedging and ready release between said taper shank and the wall of itssocket by slight turning force applied between the sleeve and theshanks.

It is of course obvious that changes may be made in the preferred formof my invention herein described without departing from the spirit of myinvention embraced in the accompanying claims.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new, anddesire to sccure by Letters Patent, is:

1. A golf club comprising a handle-section and a head-section, one o'l.said sections provided with a taper bore and the other of said sectionsprovided with a tapered shank forming a. wedge connection between saidsections, a sleeve rotatable about the proximate ends of said sections,means to hold said sleeve to one of said sections in both directionslengthwise of said sleeve during rotation of said sleeve, and a bayonetslot and pin connection between said sleeve and the other of saidsections.

2. A golf club comprising a handle section and a head section, one ofsaid sections provided with a taper bore and the other of said sectionsprovided with a tapered shank forming a wedge connection between saidsections, and a sleeve rotatable about the proximate ends of saidsections, one end of said sleeve rovided with a slot extending in aplane so stantially perpendicular to the axis of said sleeve and theother end of said sleeve provided with a bayonet slot, said respectivesections provided with pins in said slot comprising a portionsubstantially par-- allel with the axis of said shanks and a camportion, said first-named portion coacting with its pin during coaotiverelations between said positioning means for nonrotative relationbetween both said sections and said sleeve, and said cam portioncoacting with said last-named pin during rotation of said sleeve fordrawing said sections toward one another during continuance of coaotiverelation of said positioning means. v

4. A golf club comprising a handle section and a head section, one ofsaid sections pro-. .vided with a taper bore and the other of saidsections provided with a tapered shank forming a wedgeconnection betweensaid sections, a sleeve about the proximate ends of said sections, aslotand pin connection between said sleeve and one of said sections whereinthe slot lies substantially in a plane perpendicular to the axis of saidsection, and a bayonet slot and pin connection between said sleeve andthe other of said sections, said bayonet slot comprising'a portionsubstantially parallel with the axis of said last named section and acam portion, said firstnamed portion and said last-named pin arrangedfor coactive relation during relative axial movements between saidsleeve and both said sections, and said cam portion and said last-namedpin arranged for coaotive rela tion at the end of said last-namedmovement comprising a bayonet slot and pin connection,'an endwiselimitin connection and a cam connection, arrange by opposlte rotation ofsaid sleeve to draw said sections toward one another and to separatesaid sections.

6. A golf club comprising a handle sectionand a head section, means atthe proximate ends of said sections comprising a sleeve received aboutthe proximate ends of said sections, said sleeve having a slot thereinextending in a plane substantially perpendicular to the axis of saidsleeve, a pinon one of said sections coacting with said slot for holdingsaid sleeve and said last-named section in endwise relation, said sleeveprovided with a bayonet slot having a mouth in the end of said sleeveand a cam portion, a pin on the other of said sections coacting with thewalls of said last-named slot, said cam portion of said slot havingcomplementa-l opposite cam walls, both said cam Walls complemental tosaid last-named pin, constructed and arranged for respectively drawingsaid sections toward one another and for separating said sectionsendwise by relative rotations in opposite digections between said sleeveand said sections, and a cpver on said sleeve across the walls of said sots.

7 .-A golf club comprising a handle secsections for holding saidsections in nonrotative relation and permitting axial movement betweensaid sections, a sleeve received about the proximate ends of saidsections, one end of said sleeve provided with a slot, the other end ofsaid sleeve provided with a bayonet slot having a mouth at the other endof said sleeve, said slots comprising an entering portion extending fromsaid mouth substantially parallel with the axis of said sections and acam portion extending laterally, said sections provided with pinscoacting with the walls of said respective slots, and a cover on saidsleeve across said slots, said cover provided with an observationopening at one end of said first-named slot so arranged that when saidpin in said firstnamed slot is at said observation opening and saidsecond-named pin is in said entering portion of said bayonet slot, saidfirstnamed connections are in line with each other for telescopinglyconnecting said sections and said sleeve, and arranged whereby saidsections are drawn in endwise direct on toward each other by rotation ofsaid sleeve. In testimony whereof, I have hereunto signed my name.

CHARLES RIGBY.

